Media Multi-taskers Are Deluded

An article titled “Media multitaskers are ”deluded“ was authored by ”Annie Murphy Paul.“ The author of the essay discusses how students tend to use media platforms when studying (Murphy Paul, 2013). The author also presents fascinating data on the prevalence of the behavior and its repercussions on those who engage in it.

The article explains how multitasking with media and education is a typical practice at home and at school. According to the author, this habit is so pervasive that students who were monitored in a research were unable to go more than 30 minutes without utilizing their gadgets for non-learning activities (Murphy Paul, 2013). Further, a majority of students admitted that they text during class time (Murphy Paul, 2013).

The detrimental effects of the habit cannot be trivialized. Available evidence shows that multitasking while doing schoolwork causes students to spend more time to complete their assignments owing to the time spent on the distractions (Murphy Paul, 2013). Moreover, the students err in their assignments because of the mental fatigue that results from the intermittent creation of mental threads of the distractions (Murphy Paul, 2013). The division of attention during multitasking results in defective encoding of information which impairs subsequent memory of the information (Murphy Paul, 2013). Moreover, in distracted situations, the brain’s capacity for information processing and storage is disrupted which results in less capacity for the application of the skills in novel contexts (Murphy Paul, 2013). Evidently, students who engage in media-multitasking during learning have poor grades at school. As such, the behavior which is primarily a menace has prompted some educators to take some steps such as the installation of electronic spyware to ensure that students use their laptops for the approved purposes while in class (Murphy Paul, 2013).

Reference

Murphy Paul, A. (2013). Media multi-taskers are ’deluded.’ Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved from https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/fyi/media-multitaskers-are-deluded-207987941.html